Tonight, Pow Wow Pitch, a non-profit organization supporting and celebrating Indigenous entrepreneurs, announced Destinee Peter from Carry the Kettle First Nation as a winner of the Up and Comer Award at the inaugural Indigenous Entrepreneurship Awards, which celebrate excellence and outstanding achievement and impact in Indigenous entrepreneurship. 

Following high school, Destinee Peter enrolled in cosmetology and began working at Tangles Hair and Beauty Salon. After three years, at just 22-years old, Destinee purchased, rebranded and restaffed Tangles as a full-service salon with seven employees serving Indigenous and non-Indigenous clients. 

Destinee shares how sacred a haircut can be to Indigenous people and trains her team to give respect and to use sustainable, eco-friendly and cruelty-free products.

Destinee is proud of her community and shares the importance of work ethic, speaks at career fairs, gives haircuts to students in need and shares cosmetology lessons in her community of Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation. 

Destinee also facilitates Matchsticks Indigenous Women Business Mentoring Circle, sits on NACCA’s Indigenous Business Youth Advisory Council and is a sought-after mentor and speaker. 

“I am proud of who I am and where I come from,” said Destinee Peter. “To be able to use my platform to share and teach my culture is important to me. Winning this award validates my hard work in overcoming obstacles, recognizes my team and their commitment and shows us that we are on the right track.”

“It is an honour for us to celebrate and recognize excellence and outstanding impact in Indigenous entrepreneurship,” said Sunshine Tenasco, Founder of Pow Wow Pitch. “ Destinee uses entrepreneurship to build a better future for young people in her community, a beacon of light for Indigenous youth. Destinee provides an example of how entrepreneurship can be a way for leadership and community impact and how to bring Indigenous values and culture into the businesses we build. Congratulations, Destinee, and thank you for your impact and example. You are one to watch!”

To watch Destinee’s feature, click here. To watch the full Awards show, click here.

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